Crochet Hummingbird Amigurumi Pattern: An Easy Crochet Bird Pattern and Keychain You’ll Love Making

There is something undeniably magical about hummingbirds. They hover mid-air with a blur of wings, their iridescent feathers catching the light in shimmering greens and purples and blues, and they seem to exist just on the edge of fantasy. So it makes perfect sense that they would be one of the most beloved subjects for amigurumi — the Japanese art of crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures that are equal parts adorable and addictive.

This crochet hummingbird amigurumi pattern is beginner-friendly, quick to finish, and incredibly versatile. Whether you want to make a sweet little ornament, a whimsical plush to sit on a shelf, or a charming crochet keychain to clip onto your bag, this pattern has you covered. It works up in just a few hours, making it a wonderful project for a lazy Sunday afternoon or a last-minute handmade gift.

Let’s dive in, starting with everything you need to know before you pick up your hook.

Why You’ll Love This Crochet Hummingbird Pattern

Before we get into the actual stitches, let’s talk about why this little bird deserves a spot in your project queue.

First, it’s small and portable. The finished hummingbird measures roughly 4 inches from beak to tail, which means the whole project fits in your hands and your yarn stash will barely notice it. If you have leftover green or purple yarn from another project, this is the perfect way to use it up.

Second, it’s a great beginner amigurumi project. If you already know the magic ring, single crochet, increase, and decrease stitches, you have everything you need. There are no complicated stitch patterns, no color changes mid-row that will make your head spin, and no fiddly embroidery required (though you can add it if you want to). The shaping comes entirely from increases and decreases, which is the fundamental technique of amigurumi.

Third, it makes an extraordinary crochet keychain. Attach a small keyring through the tail or the top of the head, and suddenly you have a one-of-a-kind accessory that people will stop you to ask about. Handmade crochet keychains have become genuinely popular, and a hummingbird version is something you almost never see for sale, which makes it even more special.

Finally, it’s just plain fun. There is no other way to say it. Watching a tiny bird take shape in your hands is deeply satisfying in a way that big blanket projects simply cannot match.

Materials You’ll Need

Gathering your supplies before you start will make everything go more smoothly. Here is what you’ll need for this easy crochet bird pattern.

Yarn: You’ll need a small amount of worsted weight yarn (size 4) in the following colors. Iridescent or slightly variegated greens work especially well for that hummingbird shimmer, but any colors you love will be beautiful.

Main color (MC): Emerald green, teal, or deep purple — approximately 20 yards. This will be the body of the bird.

Contrast color 1 (CC1): White or cream — approximately 5 yards. This is for the belly.

Contrast color 2 (CC2): Dark gray or black — approximately 2 yards. This is for the beak.

Optional: A tiny amount of magenta, red, or orange for the throat patch, which is the iridescent gorget that male hummingbirds are famous for.

Hook: Size 3.5mm (E/4) crochet hook. You want your stitches tight enough that the stuffing won’t show through, so if your tension is loose, drop down a hook size.

Other supplies:
A pair of 6mm black safety eyes (or you can embroider eyes with black yarn if you’re making this for a very young child)
Polyfill stuffing
Yarn needle for sewing and weaving in ends
Stitch marker
Scissors
Optional for keychain: A small keyring (10mm to 15mm works well) and a short length of chain or a lobster clasp

Abbreviations Used in This Pattern

This pattern is written in US crochet terms.

MR — magic ring
ch — chain
sl st — slip stitch
sc — single crochet
inc — increase (2 single crochets in the same stitch)
dec — invisible decrease (insert hook into front loop of first stitch, then front loop of second stitch, yarn over and pull through both, yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops)
BLO — back loop only
FLO — front loop only
st — stitch
sts — stitches
( ) x [number] — repeat the instructions inside the parentheses that many times

Pattern Notes Before You Begin

Work in continuous rounds unless otherwise stated. Do not join at the end of each round unless the pattern tells you to. Use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of each round and move it up as you go.

Stuff the pieces firmly as you go. With amigurumi, it’s much easier to add stuffing little by little than to try to cram it all in at the end when the opening is tiny.

Leave long tails when you fasten off pieces that need to be sewn together. About 12 inches is usually plenty.

The hummingbird is worked in sections: body, wings (two), and tail. You’ll assemble them at the end.

Crochet Hummingbird Pattern: The Body

The body is the largest piece and the heart of this easy crochet bird pattern. You’ll work from the beak end down toward the tail.

Beak (in CC2, dark gray or black):

Round 1: MR, 4 sc into ring. (4 sts)
Round 2: [inc] x 4. (8 sts)
Round 3: sc around. (8 sts)

Fasten off CC2, leaving a short tail. Switch to MC.

Head and body (continuing from beak in MC):

Round 4: [sc, inc] x 4. (12 sts)
Round 5: [sc, sc, inc] x 4. (16 sts)
Round 6: [sc x 3, inc] x 4. (20 sts)
Round 7: sc around. (20 sts)
Round 8: sc around. (20 sts)

At this point, attach your safety eyes between rounds 6 and 7, approximately 4 to 5 stitches apart. If you’re adding a magenta throat patch, you can embroider it now with a few small stitches of that color yarn around rounds 4 and 5, centered between the eyes and beak.

Round 9: [sc x 3, dec] x 4. (16 sts)
Round 10: sc around. (16 sts)

Now switch to CC1 for the belly stripe.

Round 11: Working in BLO, sc around. (16 sts)
Round 12: sc around. (16 sts)

Switch back to MC.

Round 13: sc around. (16 sts)
Round 14: [sc x 2, dec] x 4. (12 sts)

Begin stuffing the body now. Add polyfill until the head and upper body feel firm but not stretched.

Round 15: [sc, dec] x 4. (8 sts)
Round 16: [dec] x 4. (4 sts)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail. Use the yarn needle to close the remaining opening by weaving the tail through the front loops of the 4 remaining stitches and pulling tight. Weave in the end.

Crochet Hummingbird Pattern: The Wings

Make two wings. These are worked flat, not in the round.

In MC, chain 8.

Row 1: Starting in the second chain from hook, sc x 5, hdc, dc in last ch. Turn. (7 sts)
Row 2: ch 1, dc in first st, hdc, sc x 4, inc in last st. Turn. (9 sts)
Row 3: ch 1, sc x 7, hdc, dc in last st. Turn. (9 sts)
Row 4: ch 1, dec, sc x 5, hdc, dc. Turn. (9 sts)
Row 5: ch 1, sc x 6, dec, sc. (8 sts)

Do not turn. Work a row of sc evenly around the entire edge of the wing for a neat finish, joining with a sl st at the beginning of round 5.

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Make the second wing the same way. The wings don’t need to be stuffed.

Crochet Hummingbird Pattern: The Tail

The tail gives your hummingbird that classic forked, elegant shape.

In MC:

Make two tail feathers.

For each feather: MR, 6 sc into ring. (6 sts)

Round 2: sc around. (6 sts)
Round 3: sc around. (6 sts)
Round 4: sc around. (6 sts)
Round 5: [sc, dec] x 2. (4 sts)
Round 6: sc around. (4 sts)

Fasten off the first feather, leaving a short tail. Do not fasten off the second feather. Instead, place the two feathers together side by side and join them by working 3 sc across the top of the first feather (joining them together) with the yarn still attached to the second feather. Then fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

You can also create a simpler single-piece tail by working a flat oval shape if you prefer a less detailed look. Both versions attach the same way.

Assembling Your Crochet Hummingbird

Now comes the really fun part — putting it all together.

Attaching the wings: Position each wing on the side of the body, roughly at rounds 10 through 13 (the mid-body area, just behind where the body starts to narrow). The wider curved end of the wing should sit against the body. Using the long tail and your yarn needle, sew each wing on securely using a whip stitch around the flat edge. You want the wings to angle slightly upward and backward, which mimics the natural wing position of a hummingbird in flight. Weave in ends.

Attaching the tail: Find the very back end of the body (the piece you closed off in round 16). Sew the joined top of the tail feathers onto the back of the body, centering it so the two feathers splay out slightly downward and backward. The forked shape of two separate feathers will give you that beautiful hummingbird silhouette. Sew it on firmly and weave in ends.

Finishing the beak: The beak should already be part of the body since you worked it as the beginning rounds. You can add a small dot of black embroidery thread or fabric paint at the very tip of the beak for definition if you like.

Final stuffing check: If any part of the body feels too soft or misshapen, now is the time to gently poke a little extra stuffing in through any unfinished seams before you close everything up. A chopstick or pencil eraser works well for this.

How to Turn This into a Crochet Keychain

Converting your finished hummingbird into a crochet keychain is incredibly simple and takes less than two minutes.

Cut a piece of yarn in a coordinating color, about 6 inches long. Thread it through the yarn needle and run it through the very top of the hummingbird’s head, between the two topmost stitches on the head. Thread it back through in the opposite direction so you have a small loop. Tie both ends to your keyring or to a short length of jewelry chain with a lobster clasp.

Alternatively, for a more polished look, you can use a jump ring (available at any craft store) and attach it to the small loop. Then clip your keyring or lobster clasp onto the jump ring. This gives the hummingbird a tiny bit of movement when it hangs, which looks really lovely.

If you want the keychain version specifically, you might consider using a thinner yarn — size 3 (DK weight) or even size 1 (fingering weight) with a correspondingly smaller hook. This produces a tinier bird that hangs more neatly from a keyring and is less bulky in a pocket or bag.

Tips for Customizing Your Hummingbird Amigurumi

One of the greatest joys of amigurumi is how easy it is to make each one completely unique. Here are a few ideas.

Change the color palette. Real hummingbirds come in an astonishing range of colors. Ruby-throated hummingbirds have that famous red gorget. Anna’s hummingbirds have rosy pink heads. Violet-crowned hummingbirds are exactly what they sound like. You can use any color combination you love or try to replicate a specific species. Metallic or slightly shimmery yarn is a wonderful choice here.

Add surface details. A few small embroidered stitches in a contrasting thread can suggest feather texture on the wings. French knots in a bright color can suggest the iridescent gorget. A single strand of white embroidery floss can add a tiny catchlight to each eye.

Make a flock. Once you’ve made one, it’s very hard to stop. A grouping of hummingbirds in different colors hanging together from a mobile or garland makes a stunning handmade decoration, especially for a nursery or nature-themed room.

Gift it as a keychain. These little birds make incredibly thoughtful, personal gifts. A hummingbird is a meaningful symbol in many cultures — representing joy, resilience, lightness of spirit, and the sweetness of life. Giving someone a handmade hummingbird keychain carries a lot of heart in a very small package.

Adjust the size. Using a bulky yarn and a 6mm hook will give you a chunkier, more plush bird. Using fingering weight yarn and a 1.5mm hook will give you a tiny, delicate bird that is impressive in its miniature detail. The math stays the same; only the scale changes.

Gauge and Sizing

With worsted weight yarn and a 3.5mm hook, the finished hummingbird body should measure approximately 3.5 inches long (not including the beak or tail) and about 1.5 inches wide at its widest point. With the beak and tail attached, the full bird measures approximately 5 to 5.5 inches from beak tip to tail tip.

If your finished size is significantly different from this, adjust your hook size. Going down a hook size will make the stitches tighter and the piece slightly smaller; going up a hook size will make it slightly larger and looser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this pattern really suitable for beginners?

Yes, genuinely. If you can work a magic ring and single crochet in the round, you have the core skills for this pattern. The increases and decreases are the standard amigurumi shaping technique that beginners learn early on. The wings are worked flat, which is even simpler than working in the round.

Can I use acrylic yarn?

Absolutely. Most amigurumi makers use acrylic yarn because it’s affordable, widely available, easy to wash, and comes in an enormous range of colors. Acrylic is perfectly suited to this pattern. That said, if you have a preference for natural fibers, cotton yarn also works beautifully, especially for the fine details.

How do I make sure the wings stay in place?

Sew them on using a whip stitch through multiple points along the wing’s edge rather than just tacking the center. Going around the entire flat edge of the wing will distribute the stress and keep the wings securely attached even with regular handling, which is especially important if you’re making this as a crochet keychain.

How do I care for the finished hummingbird?

If you used acrylic yarn, you can hand-wash the finished amigurumi gently in cool water with a small amount of mild soap. Press out the excess water with a towel (don’t wring it) and reshape it, then let it air dry. Avoid machine washing, as this can distort the shape and damage the safety eyes.

A Few Final Thoughts

This crochet hummingbird amigurumi pattern is one of those projects that proves you don’t need to spend days on something to make it meaningful. In just a few hours, you can create a tiny creature that brings genuine delight — to yourself, to someone